2006 Albums Review funk soul: Analog Africa Hallelujah Chicken Run Band
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Hallelujah Chicken Run Band – Take One (Analog Africa, 2006)
It’s said that mathematics is the universal language. But to those of us that lack that kind of intelligence, we settle for music being the intermediary between cultures. Ska bands play stadiums in Japan, German DJ’s come to the US and play venues that they wouldn’t consider in the father land. But the discourse involved in the world wide community of musicians and fans is propped up by openness and wonder.
While placing each type of music into a social and geographic context occasionally presents a problem, this posthumous release by Hallelujah Chicken Run Band allows listeners to explore what most likely would be referred to as afropop or afrobeat. Songs touch on sweet repetitive choruses, but also on elastic rhythms that drive dance floors.
Unfortunately for the vast majority of Westerners, the knowledge base for understanding how one speaks in Shona or Sindabele is generally lacking. So there really isn’t too much hope for understanding what Thomas Mapfumo is trying to impart to listeners. But again, music itself is a conversation. On “Morembo” a listener may extrapolate that the band is in good spirits by the manner in which the vocalist repeats “Cheba, Cheba” – but that might be incorrect. Ditching second guesses, the overarching feel of the music is jubilant, whether the lyrics reflect happiness or a need for uncompromising change.
There are call and response style slinky pop songs (“Tamba Zimba Navashe,” “Ndopenga”) and the stately, withdrawn horn lines on “Gore Iro.” But what makes afrobeat – and the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band specifically – remarkable is the ability of musicians to adapt different approaches to music in a way that is unique to their own culture.
Tracklisting:
01 – Mudzimu Ndiringe
02 – Kare Nanhasi
03 – Ngoma Yarira
04 – Manheru Changamire
05 – Tamba Zimba Navashe
06 – Mutoridodo
07 – Mukadzi Wangu Ndomuda
08 – Sekai
09 – Gore Iro
10 – Murembo
11 – Mwana Wamai Dada Naye
12 – Musawore Moyo
13 – Alikulila
14 – Ndopenga
15 – Ngatiende Kumusha
16 – Shumba Inobva Mu Gomo
17 – Tinokumbira Kuziva
18 – Chaminuka Mukuru
